ABSTRACT
Christianity was propagated actively as Norway's official religion by King Olav Haraldsson, who was driven out of Norway by adherents of King Cnut the Great and was killed in the battle of Stiklestad in 1030 when he tried to regain his throne. Many bishops, mostly of English origin, were active in Norway during the first half of the eleventh century, but, as Adam stresses, there were no fixed diocesan borders in this initial phase, left to find protection with kings or mighty families. The legend of the 'Holy men of Selja' was apparently widespread in Norway at the latest in the reign of Olav Kyrre, who made the island the residence of a bishop. King Magnus Barefoot of Norway was married to Margareta Fredkulla, a daughter of the Swedish King Inge and his queen, Helena. The early beginnings of monasticism in Norway and Sweden was a pioneer achievement.
